Port tunnel - a wasted resource ?

Sandwich

Had passed thru the tunnel a couple of times in the past - only at weekends since it reduced the fee (car driver).

But for work had occasion to use it last Thursday 6pm ish, and Friday 5:15pm ish to make work appointments (and the toll would be recouped as expenses).

Shocked at how empty it was. On thursday it was almost empty, I estimated 300-500 yards between the few cars fore and aft of me.
A few more on Friday, but still virtually unused, 200-300 yards between vehicles. (No trucks in it at all on either day).

I understand a toll set high enough that it doesnt just becoming another bottleneck like the M50, and preserves its #1 function of taking trucks directly to the port.
But leaving it unused while time, money, fuel waste, pollution, frustration mount up in the traffic jams above it on the surface.

Looked to me like a seriously misjudged toll system was causing a damned expensibe piece of tax payer infrastructure to be badly underutilised.

Any one know whats going on and am I missing something?

ninty9er

Sandwich wrote: »

Had passed thru the tunnel a couple of times in the past - only at weekends since it reduced the fee (car driver).

But for work had occasion to use it last Thursday 6pm ish, and Friday 5:15pm ish to make work appointments (and the toll would be recouped as expenses).

Shocked at how empty it was. On thursday it was almost empty, I estimated 300-500 yards between the few cars fore and aft of me.
A few more on Friday, but still virtually unused, 200-300 yards between vehicles. (No trucks in it at all on either day).

I understand a toll set high enough that it doesnt just becoming another bottleneck like the M50, and preserves its #1 function of taking trucks directly to the port.
But leaving it unused while time, money, fuel waste, pollution, frustration mount up in the traffic jams above it on the surface.

Looked to me like a seriously misjudged toll system was causing a damned expensibe piece of tax payer infrastructure to be badly underutilised.

Any one know whats going on and am I missing something?

It's tolled that way so that you could do what you did. Drive it without stopping in traffic.

Run_to_da_hills

Convert it into Metro North and continue it on out to the Airport.

markpb

ninty9er wrote: »

It's tolled that way so that you could do what you did. Drive it without stopping in traffic.

There's still a point to be made, it might be possible to drop the toll slightly so the tunnell is slightly busier, without being congested. In particular weekends and nights (if it's open) need to be reconsidered.

bikki

What is it?

11 euro per car during peak hours? Its grand though force cars through the city and block the roads which arnt able for that volume of traffic.

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

VH

there are plans - now that the port tunnel is finished - to move dublin port to a location fairly far north from where it is now

if these go ahead the port tunnel will be opened to regular traffic

Phoole

It was built to keep trucks out of the city, not for the everyday car commuter.

Run_to_da_hills

The port tunnel makes an excellent monitoring device for tracking unlawful vehicles entering and leaving the city. They can use ANPR adapted CCTV and E_tagging to check on stolen and suspect cars.

The authorities can track them passing through the tunnel and by the time the offending vehicle has reached either end it would give them ample time to apprehend them. The Dartford tunnel in the UK was one of the first pilot cases for testing the use of ANPR cameras, it has proven to be very effective with first arrest due to a detected stolen car made as far back as 1981 .